Hooked on Fishing events set for Saturday in Chico, Oroville

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Richard Castro, 10, of Chico, looks to his grandfather for advice as he reels in a catfish during the Hooked on Fishing event last year at Horseshoe Lake in Chico. - Dan Reidel — Enterprise-Record

Catfish from a fish farm in Vina are planted in Horseshoe Lake May 31, 2013 for the Hooked on Fishing not on drugs event. - Bill Husa — Enterprise-Record

12-year-old Shane Taylor of Chico gives out a yell as he lifts up a catfish while his 5-year-old brother Wyatt watches. Fish raised at a fish farm in Vina are planted in Horseshoe Lake in preparation for the Hooked on Fishing event on May 31, 2013. - Bill Husa — Enterprise-Record

Adrian Vang, 8, lands the trout his sister caught at Hooked on Fishing last year at Bedrock Park in Oroville. - Dan Reidel — Enterprise-Record

Chico >> There will be two fishing hot spots Saturday as thousands of children will test their skill and try to catch one of the aquatic animals.

Two free Hooked on Fishing, Not on Drugs events are set for Horseshoe Lake in Chico’s upper Bidwell Park and Bedrock Park in Oroville. Each event runs from 7 a.m. to noon.

The Chico event is geared for children 15 and younger while the Oroville event is for those 12 and younger.

Steve Carson, media relations director of the Chico event, said the event gets kids of all ages to see what fishing is all about. He said the event also boosts fishing as a credible activity when children see other children taking part.

According to Carson, the Chico event has been going on for 27 years and has drawn as many as 4,000 children. He estimated there were 2,000 last year.

Carson, also the Enterprise-Record’s outdoors columnist, said fishing can be an exciting pastime.

“It’s a pretty powerful draw and it gives kids something to do no matter where they are, if there’s water,” he said.

Laurie Sousa, past president of the Oroville Kiwanis Club, said a lot of children wouldn’t have the opportunity to fish without the events. The Oroville event draws about 700, but they have seen more than 1,300.

To help make the events a success, fish will be stocked at both sites. Carson said 8,000 pounds of catfish will be added to Horseshoe Lake.

Sousa said catfish and steelhead trout would be stocked at Bedrock Park’s lagoon. The fish would be released into the adjacent Feather River following the event.

No license is required for the children and each child may keep one fish from Chico and two from Oroville. Volunteers will be on hand to help and there will be free fish cleaning available at both sites.

Children may bring their own fishing equipment, but both sites will have rods, reels and bait available for use. Also, no lead sinkers are permitted at Horseshoe Lake.

At both sites, there will be special fishing areas for the very young. In Chico, the mini-angler tanks are for children 5 and younger. Oroville has Jim’s Pond for children 6 and younger and those with disabilities to catch one fish each.

In addition to fishing, the Oroville event will feature booths from different groups, including library’s literacy bus, a boat from Butte County Search and Rescue and a crafts activity from the Home Depot.

“It’s just a lot of different stuff going on at this little park,” Sousa said.

There will also be giveaways at both locations. In Oroville, each child can register for a “fishing license,” and be entered into a drawing for fishing gear and outdoor toys donated by Walmart. Some refurbished bicycles and bike helmets will also be given away.

In Chico, a child who catches a turtle, frog or a resident fish other than a catfish can win a rod and reel provided by the Chico Bass Club.

Carson said there is going to be a lot of fish in the lake. Only about half of the stocked fish will be caught, so the remainder will be available for children to return and catch on another day.

Hooked on Fishing is a program of the American Sportfishing Association.